bad news
I'm going to Winnipeg on business this weekend, home of
Ram Wools. THE Ram Wools. The gorgeous catalogue. That's not the bad news part.
I will be arriving in Winnipeg bright and early on Sunday morning, with no commitments for the day, all the time in the world for yarn shopping. (speaking of yarn shopping, did you all get a load of
Steph's WEBS experience??? Yarn shopping with grocery carts... :drool:). I am unable to escape my original business purpose all day Monday, then I will re-board a plane and head for home. Now the bad news: Ram Wools is closed on Sundays. I'm going all the way to Winnipeg, and I will miss their business hours... But I will try to track down other shops, open on Sundays, and report back.
In other news, my computer is still ailing though --thanks to a tech savvy friend-- on the road to recovery. And I've taken up beading. Well, just for stitch markers. When I am properly online again I'll post some pictures.
the taxman cometh...
So, I finally got
Stephanie's
new book in my mailbox! Hurrah! It is keeping me sane, but I'm almost through it now, so I'm going to need a new fix.
In other, much less good news, my computer has died. (I'm blogging this from DBFs computer.) In even worse news, when it died, it swallowed my freshly completed taxes before they could be printed or sent or anything. No, I had not yet backed them up. The plan was complete taxes, then back up system. The computer beat me to the punch by moments.
[For anyone else who is self-employed, you will feel the pain along with me. I had just finished sorting through my "system" (okay, system is an overstatement this year -- many grocery bags full of thousands of tiny receipts does not qualify as a system exactly), carefully entering the numbers into categories on the computer, and had not felt compelled to keep track of those numbers out in the real world. Ungh. Back to the calculator.]
So I re-did it all. During my knitting and practicing time. Sigh. I need a latte, just thinking about it. (say, do you think that's deductible for sanity's sake?)
Later: Nothing like a little touch therapy to make you feel better. As a reward for doing my taxes TWICE, I am the proud new owner of One Skein of malabrigo in Lime blue.
In my Easter basket...
Easter weekend meant a trip through Toronto. Yarn capital of this area, no? So I made a quickie little stop at
Lettuce Knit to be among the first to caress their new shipment of
Socks that Rock, because y'all have been talking so much about this stuff online! It is gorgeous and soft, and they had about a zillion beautiful colorways in stock -- with fabulous names like Rock Star, Fred Flintstone, Farmhouse, Jewel of the Nile... I decided on Rolling Stone. But I carried about 5 different ones around the store before reluctantly choosing only one for the upcoming summer of socks (budget, budget).
Another customer asked Megan which was her favorite. Her response: Ohhh... they're like children. You can't choose favorites.
She's right... theyre all wonderful in a unique way. I expect I'll end up with a few more skeins of this. (Fred Flintstone was hard to put down!)
Next on the whirlwind yarn tour of Toronto, over to
Romni. Packed with customers, by the way, all grabbing at things -- there's something about not being able to shop on Friday and Sunday that puts a frenzy on Saturday during Easter weekend. In any case, I mainly wanted to look at their vast book selection, but I have been nosing about for mohair for Misty Garden (also out of
Scarf Style).
I love this store. They had several different brands that fit the bill, but I chose the Queensland Collection Soft Comfort Mohair because of the yummy colorway. Should knit up well. Also grabbed a little Eucalan, and a circular to get started on MG.
Also, am almost done first sleeve of Turtleneck Shrug... this much 3x3 rib is killing me. Will post pic when onto next sleeve. Still waiting (im)patiently for
Harlot's book to arrive.
Grumble.
So, I ordered the Harlot's
new book from Chapters/Indigo. And since they shipping is free if you spend $39, and since Ann & Kay's
new book was super on sale on the website, and since I just got my GST cheque in the mail, (and since I really wanted them!) I ordered both. Both "usually ship in 24 hours". Anyway, Harlot is still in transit. And Mason-Dixon Knitting arrived today -- DAMAGED! Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. I am currently trying to figure out how they're going to get me another copy without me paying for shipping! But in the meantime I can at least enjoy the book tonight.
In other news, there IS no other news. I have had very little time to knit lately (sniff). And here is one of the major reasons: meet Fritz.
Yes, this is a terrible photo. Black kitties who sit really, really close, chase yarn, and attack ends of dpns, and meeyowwwl at you while you are trying to knit are difficult to photograph. I'll do better next time. But here he is...
How do I begin? I was blown away. I went twice in two days...
First of all, Lettuce Knit is located in cool and trendy Kensington Market, and I had the BEST parking luck on a Friday afternoon -- right in front of the door (perfect for toting many heavy packages out to car).
Walking in I was struck immediately by a couple of things:
1. the CRAZY, fabulous, delicious, holy-cow, overwhelming, how-will-I-ever-choose-just-a-few-things-I-can-(almost)-afford, I've-only-heard-of-some-of-these-yarns, sensory overload, spectacular range of color, texture and fibre.
2. the tinyness of this little treasure, considering number 1. I can't even find words--- just go there if you can. I hear they also have mail order. It's wonderful.
I actually had a little bit of a blank-out. Holding such beautiful yarns my mind actually went a little squishy -- I couldn't think straight... what could I knit with this weight? this gauge? So, with a little input from the very knowledgeable
Laura, I selected...
4 skeins
Alpaca & Silk in a gentle spring green, for my first ever lace effort (Shetland Triangle Shawl in
Wrap Style) and a pair of Koigu for the summer of socks.
Then comes my absolute geek geekiest day of all.
Friday night, after my glorious Lettuce Knit experience, I had a horrible nightmare. I was knitting my shawl, my first ever lace project, and I ran out of Alpaca. It was dramatic, to say the least -- in the dream there was a weird chunk missing from an odd place in the shawl, not the way one would knit at all. In any case, the message was clear, and when the knitting goddesses smile on me with a warning, I take heed.
So Saturday, after a long day spent enjoying the
One of a Kind Craft Show with my mom, I went back to LK for one more skein of Alpaca & Silk. It was the only reasonable thing to do.
I went directly for the A&S while my mom (who is also a wool-lover: but more for rughooking) browsed. I had coveted some stitch-markers the previous day, and since I defy anyone to pass over the wall of Koigu, I grabbed another pair for socks. (I'm going to have the best dressed feet come autumn!). Then I asked an incredibly friendly Megan about
Stephanie's new
book. And she told me I'd just missed her. IN THE STORE.
Then I really geeked out. I mean, a whole day of crafty excitement, my second trip to LK in two days, and I almost met the Harlot. Poor Megan - I was absolutely twitching and I'm sure I was a total freak.
But that's not all... it actually gets better. While all this was going on, my mom was maxxing out on adorable with some cute dpn holders and these
lamb tape measures by Lantern Moon, and grabbed one for each of us... and then... then.... she INSISTED on buying my stuff for me! My extra skein of A&S, my Koigu, stitch markers, holders and the lambtastic tape measure. Can you believe this day???
Moms are great, especially moms that "get" the whole fibre-geek thing. It was a good day.
March Break SEX
Yep... this is a stash post.
Stash
Enhancement e
Xpedition. And boy was it good...
A trip to Ottawa --
National Gallery, Royal Canadian Mint, and of course... a new wool store, in this case,
Yarn Forward.
They have a lovely store - lots of selection, a sock-stock to die for, and the
Lily Chin collection, which I'd not laid eyes (fingers!) on before. In the end, with a bit of restraint I bought "only" this:
Enough Lang Tosca for a self-striping scarf, Elizabeth Lavold Cotton Patine for the Ruffles Scarf in
Scarf Style, Lana Grossa Meilenweit colortweed for the upcoming summer of socks, and an I-couldn't-resist pair of TherMohair you'd-never-believe-how-soft socks. Yum.
